One of the things I’m trying to do this year is to eat healthier on a regular basis and I do pretty good with that (just NOT during the Holidays!). And part of that process is that I’m starting to eat more smoothies, those wonderful concoctions of yummy that you can throw lots of healthy ingredients into and make just about anything you want. Fruit, veggies, lots of good things can go in a smoothie and I’m just scratching the surface on how to make them. I can’t wait to make more of them this year!
Working with a wonderful brand that I’d heard about called Blendtec, I contacted them about trying out one of their products and they sent me a reconditioned Blendtec smoothie maker to try out and this thing works like a charm. I’ve only had regular blenders before, so this Blendtec blender is the high-end version of a blender.
I love that you can pack a lot of punch in these blenders and make delicious smoothies that are full of nutrition and healthy ingredients. You start with the liquids on the bottom. You can use regular milk, coconut milk, yogurt, whatever you want for the base, you just have to add some liquid so it all blends together smoothly. Then you add the soft ingredients, like fresh fruit, or kale and spinach. I used fresh bananas and kale in mine, along with frozen strawberries. Add the frozen items on top.
The top of the jar fits snugly in place and you can take out the plastic piece in the middle to add things in there too.
The fresh kale came out of my dad’s garden. I’m going to start buying kale more in the grocery store since it’s out there now. Dad’s garden is about gone for this year, but having fresh kale around was a treat. It’s such a healthy green vegetable, packed with lots of nutrition. The Blendtec blenders do lots more than smoothies too. You can make your own peanut butter, for instance. I haven’t tried anything else but the smoothie so far, but those are going on my list of faves for the year.
They also sent me a Twister jar which blends really thick recipes with ease (like the peanut butter). The large jar I got is perfect for blending smoothies.
Fresh kale is the best! I also bought some Whey protein to add to my smoothies, since added protein is a good thing too.
A press of the Blendtec button and the machine whirrs my smoothie into a smooth and creamy milkshake-like delight.
And looks like this after a few seconds. The Blendtec controls are all digital, so when the power is turned on, they all light up and you can use the pictures to decide which one you need to use. The power can go up and down with the press of a button too. I loved how easy it was to use and clean up is a breeze.
The color of smoothies is not all that appealing at times, but they are delicious and nutritious for you. Usually adding kale or spinach will make them more green, but this one turned out brownish green. It didn’t matter to me, it still tastes delicious, so I’ll be experimenting with my Blendtec blender to see what other good recipes I can come up with.
Are you making smoothies these days? I want to eat even healthier this year than last, so I’m trying to makes some changes to my diet to bring that about and I do think smoothies a few times a week will be very beneficial.
What is your favorite smoothie to make if you make them? I’d love to try some new combinations.
Note:Â I received a reconditioned Blendtec blender to try out at no charge.
I love smoothies! I have a Vitamix blender and I make smoothies almost every day, I like frozen mango chunks with greek yogurt, ice, water, guava juice, and a little lime juice (I’m afraid I rarely sneak green stuff into my smoothies, but I don’t add sugar so I guess that’s good!) or I love frozen peaches, ice, water, simply apple, and cinnamon. The one thing I do add that I guess is healthier, is I like to add fiber (since I read that getting 100% of your fiber first thing in the morning stops your body from absorbing as much fat throughout the day) I use a clear mix in metamucil. Cranberries are another super food I like to add to my smoothies! I always avoid any juice add in that isn’t 100% juice, and anything with corn syrup for sure!
I have a vitamixer that I love, I use it every day. I never heard of Blend-tec, it looks to be a powerful blender too. What is the price line on that?
Be sure and try coconut oil in your drinks, love that with banana and choc protein powder and lots of ice and milk of your choice. I love smoothies, I just bought a new book with lots of recipes, when I find great one’s I’ll let you know. I normally concoct them by what I have on hand and am looking for some new ones with veggies.
Love my smoothies. Kinda hard for me to eat them with the weather being as cold as it has been. My favorite is: frozen peaches or strawberries, 1/2 banana, spinach, Greek yogurt, orange juice, honey, and a little fat free 1/2 and 1/2. Probably not as healthy a your is. I am going to have to take a look for some kale.
Often make them when friends stay and they don’t want a big preakfast. My own favorite recipe is some half fat milk, a dollop of plain yoghurt, half a banana, and some fresh or frozen raspberries or strawberries. No added sugar (but no greens!).
I use the Nutri-Bullet.. I make a nutri-blast every morning Kale & some other green I have either turnip greens, spinach, beet greens or Swiss chard(my favorite is the Swiss chard & Kale), I then add chia seeds, flax seeds, 5 raw almonds or cashews, blackberries, blueberries and a chunk of banana, My liquid is either water or coconut water! I started these in early November and have noticed a big difference.
I bought a vitamix this christmas with the same idea as you – add more healthy veggies to our diet. The guy that I bought my vitamix from gave me his best recipes and this one is my favorite. It is delicious and even my husband and kids love it!! Plus it’s loaded with veggies and fruit. Hope you like it too!
Morning green juice:
-1 cup coconut water
-Half orange (cut the peel off leaving as much of the white pulp on as possible)
-Quarter apple
-6-7 chunks frozen pineapple
-1 cup kale
-1 cup collard greens
-1 cup spinach
-5-6 pitted dates
-Sliver of lemon
-sliver of lime
-2 cups ice
I use a cheap blender for my smoothies that I’ve been making for years…the one thing I’ve learned that it’s hard for any blender when you include ice….I’ve broken a few blenders burning up the motor doing this until I “finally” learned to add the ice cubes one or 2 at a time thru the hole at the top while it’s blending the fruit/skim milk/yogurt…so the $20 Walmart blender works for me…I’ve looked at the expensive blenders but would hate to paying that much. Good luck!
I love smoothies too. My current favorite is:
1/2 cup skim milk or protein drink if I have it (like Atkin’s)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup or so of frozen strawberries
1 tablespoon wheat germ
1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips
Give this all a whir in the blender. I have a long commute; sipping on this helps pass the time. Yum!
I like to make smoothies using chocolate soy milk, banana, raspberry sherbet, vanilla yogurt and fresh berries like blueberries or raspberries. Add a little ice and blend.
Carla Hanson
My favorite: strawberries, vanilla ice cream, milk and vanilla extract. Sorry! I’m yanking your chain. BUT I’m afraid I’ll have to pass on the ‘green’ slushy drinks. I’m old and at a point in my life I’ll get my greens the old fashioned way. Rhoda if it’s your thing – more power to you! 🙂
I’ve been making smoothies for my breakfast for years. I’ve changed it up over the years…right now it’s flax seed, frozen blueberries, frozen mango (or peaches), almond milk (or non GMO soy milk), pomegranate juice, kale, spinach. cinnamon and some water if needed to make it smooth. Yes, the color could be a turn off but, thankfully, not for me!
Hi Rhoda,
I’ve gotten ADDICTED to my green smoothies! All of you who are afraid of that green color, you MUST TRY THEM! I use a cucumber, tons of kale, some spinach (it’s unbelievably sweet when crushed up), protein powder from Whole Foods, a pear, and either pineapple chunks or grapes. If I use less fruit, I add a packet of Stevia. Stay away from those other artificial sweeteners, Stevia is best. Try it every morning for a week and you’ll notice an increase in your energy level. As an ovarian cancer survivor, I’m following Kris Karr’s advice in her book Crazy Sexy Cancer. She’s been living the good life despite fighting liver cancer for 10 years. Cheers to good health!!!!
I did a “Love Your Greens” 30-day green smoothie challenge last May and have been hooked ever since! One of my favorites is water (or milk), spinach, frozen banana, frozen blueberries, chia seeds, cocoa powder, & natural peanut butter. A great tip I learned is to look for marked-down produce to put into the freezer for future use in smoothies….especially bananas. Just be sure to peel the bananas before freezing! My daughter recently scored 4 lbs of bananas for 58-cents!
Thanks for the preview of this machine…I have been looking to replace ours. I love smoothies, but haven’t had the courage to go green yet. With all the responses here I’m going to try it! I might like it!!
Protein Smoothie Breakfast
1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk (30-40 calories per cup)
1/4 cup of frozen blueberriesÂ
1-2 Handfuls of baby kale or spinach leaves or the kale spinach mix (I usually buy the baby or box of organic baby spinach)
1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed (Bob’s Red Mill brand at most grocery stores)Â
1 scoop of vanilla whey protein (mine is from Walmart)
Couple of shakes of Cinnamon
Sometimes I also add half of a banana.
**Can also make it with 8 oz of green tea instead of the almond milk. Â I’ll brew a cup and let it chill and use it later in the day or next day for an afternoon pick me up.Â
Thank you all for chiming in! I’m going to come back to this post and make notes for buying some new stuff for my smoothies. My brother-in-law got me going on adding the green stuff to my smoothies and honestly, you can’t even taste it! So why not throw in the good stuff? I just bought frozen fruit, coconut milk, and spinach!
My sister has the same device and she really liked it. I have an ordinary blender and I am absolutely satisfied with it also. It performs the same functions and costs cheaper. May be it all depends on personal preferences.
This looks great! My blender is so ‘meh’. I need to keep this in mind.
I have had a BlendTec for at least 4 years; LOVE it! They are high powered – can grind ice and “never blink”; great for turning out lots of summer drinks in quick succession too.
My favorite breakfast smoothie is a cup of juice (NO sugar added), a cup of Greek yogurt, and a cup of frozen fruit – straight from the freezer- hard as a rock! – grind away and enjoy in just minutes; so tasty!
We have yummy smoothies every morning. Our favorite:
Frozen Strawberries
Frozen Blueberries
Flax & Chia Seeds (freshly ground)
Vegan Proteins+ Double Chocolate (available at The Vitamin Shoppe)
Almond Milk (unsweetened)
We’ve had a Ninja for a few years now, but I’m looking for something a little more powerful and “blendy” for my smoothies. My favorite is strawberry, banana (frozen), coconut oil, chia seeds, ground flax seed, handful of spinach and water…soo good and good for you!!